5,760 research outputs found
Phase Transitions in Ultra-Cold Two-Dimensional Bose Gases
We briefly review the theory of Bose-Einstein condensation in the
two-dimensional trapped Bose gas and, in particular the relationship to the
theory of the homogeneous two-dimensional gas and the
Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless phase. We obtain a phase diagram for the
trapped two-dimensional gas, finding a critical temperature above which the
free energy of a state with a pair of vortices of opposite circulation is lower
than that for a vortex-free Bose-Einstein condensed ground state. We identify
three distinct phases which are, in order of increasing temperature, a phase
coherent Bose-Einstein condensate, a vortex pair plasma with fluctuating
condensate phase and a thermal Bose gas. The thermal activation of
vortex-antivortex pair formation is confirmed using finite-temperature
classical field simulations
Density functional theory of the trapped Fermi gas in the unitary regime
We investigate a density-functional theory (DFT) approach for an unpolarized
trapped dilute Fermi gas in the unitary limit . A reformulation of the recent
work of T. Papenbrock [Phys. Rev. A, {\bf 72}, 041602(R) (2005)] in the
language of fractional exclusion statistics allows us to obtain an estimate of
the universal factor, , in three dimensions (3D), in addition to
providing a systematic treatment of finite- corrections. We show that in 3D,
finite- corrections lead to unphysical values for , thereby
suggesting that a simple DFT applied to a small number of particles may not be
suitable in 3D. We then perform an analogous calculation for the
two-dimensional (2D) system in the infinite-scattering length regime, and
obtain a value of . Owing to the unique properties of the
Thomas-Fermi energy density-functional in 2D our result, in contrast to 3D, is
{\em exact} and therefore requires no finite- corrections
Anatomical and biomechanical traits of broiler chickens across ontogeny. Part II. Body segment inertial properties and muscle architecture of the pelvic limb
In broiler chickens, genetic success for desired production traits is often shadowed by welfare concerns related to musculoskeletal health. Whilst these concerns are clear, a viable solution is still elusive. Part of the solution lies in knowing how anatomical changes in afflicted body systems that occur across ontogeny influence standing and moving. Here, to demonstrate these changes we quantify the segment inertial properties of the whole body, trunk (legs removed) and the right pelvic limb segments of five broilers at three different age groups across development. We also consider how muscle architecture (mass, fascicle length and other properties related to mechanics) changes for selected muscles of the pelvic limb. All broilers used had no observed lameness, but we document the limb pathologies identified post mortem, since these two factors do not always correlate, as shown here. The most common leg disorders, including bacterial chondronecrosis with osteomyelitis and rotational and angular deformities of the lower limb, were observed in chickens at all developmental stages. Whole limb morphology is not uniform relative to body size, with broilers obtaining large thighs and feet between four and six weeks of age. This implies that the energetic cost of swinging the limbs is markedly increased across this growth period, perhaps contributing to reduced activity levels. Hindlimb bone length does not change during this period, which may be advantageous for increased stability despite the increased energetic costs. Increased pectoral muscle growth appears to move the centre of mass cranio-dorsally in the last two weeks of growth. This has direct consequences for locomotion (potentially greater limb muscle stresses during standing and moving). Our study is the first to measure these changes in the musculoskeletal system across growth in chickens, and reveals how artificially selected changes of the morphology of the pectoral apparatus may cause deficits in locomotion
Modeling the buckling and delamination of thin films
I study numerically the problem of delamination of a thin film elastically
attached to a rigid substrate. A nominally flat elastic thin film is modeled
using a two-dimensional triangular mesh. Both compression and bending
rigidities are included to simulate compression and bending of the film. The
film can buckle (i.e., abandon its flat configuration) when enough compressive
strain is applied. The possible buckled configurations of a piece of film with
stripe geometry are investigated as a function of the compressive strain. It is
found that the stable configuration depends strongly on the applied strain and
the Poisson ratio of the film. Next, the film is considered to be attached to a
rigid substrate by springs that can break when the detaching force exceeds a
threshold value, producing the partial delamination of the film. Delamination
is induced by a mismatch of the relaxed configurations of film and substrate.
The morphology of the delaminated film can be followed and compared with
available experimental results as a function of model parameters.
`Telephone-cord', polygonal, and `brain-like' patterns qualitatively similar to
experimentally observed configurations are obtained in different parameter
regions. The main control parameters that select the different patterns are the
mismatch between film and substrate and the degree of in-plane relaxation
within the unbuckled regions.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figure
Riemann zeros, prime numbers and fractal potentials
Using two distinct inversion techniques, the local one-dimensional potentials
for the Riemann zeros and prime number sequence are reconstructed. We establish
that both inversion techniques, when applied to the same set of levels, lead to
the same fractal potential. This provides numerical evidence that the potential
obtained by inversion of a set of energy levels is unique in one-dimension. We
also investigate the fractal properties of the reconstructed potentials and
estimate the fractal dimensions to be for the Riemann zeros and for the prime numbers. This result is somewhat surprising since the
nearest-neighbour spacings of the Riemann zeros are known to be chaotically
distributed whereas the primes obey almost poisson-like statistics. Our
findings show that the fractal dimension is dependent on both the
level-statistics and spectral rigidity, , of the energy levels.Comment: Five postscript figures included in the text. To appear in Phys. Rev.
Acromegaly, Mr Punch and caricature.
The origin of Mr Punch from the Italian Pulcinella of the Commedia dell'arte is well known but his feature, large hooked nose, protruding chin, kyphosis and sternal protrusion all in an exaggerated form also suggest the caricature of an acromegalic. This paper looks at the physical characteristics of acromegaly, the origin of Mr Punch and the development of caricature linking them together in the acromegalic caricature that now has a life of its own
- …